Meanwhile, the four large men-of-war, _Trenton_, _Calliope_, _Vandalia_, and _Olga_, were still afloat and in a comparatively safe position; but about ten o’clock the _Trenton_ was seen to be in a helpless condition; her rudder and propeller were both gone, and there was nothing but her anchors to hold her up against the unabated force of the storm. The _Vandalia_ and _Calliope_ were also in danger, drifting back toward the reef near the point where lay the wreck of the _Adler_; and they came closer together every minute, until finally the English ship struck the _Vandalia_ and tore a great hole in her bow. Then Captain Kane of the _Calliope_ determined to try to steam out of the harbor as his only hope, and he at once cut loose from all his anchors. The _Calliope’s_ head swung around to the wind and her engines were worked to their utmost power. Great waves broke over her bow and she gained headway at first only inch by inch, but her speed gradually increased until it became evident that she could leave the harbor. This manœuver of the British ship is regarded as one of the most daring in naval annals—the one desperate chance offered her commander to save his vessel and the three hundred lives aboard. The _Trenton’s_ fires had gone out by that time, and she lay helpless almost in the path of the _Calliope_. The decks were swarming with men, but, facing death as they were, they recognized the heroic struggle of the British ship, and a great shout went up from aboard the _Trenton_. “Three cheers for the _Calliope_!” was the sound that reached the ears of the British tars as they passed out of the harbor in the teeth of the storm; and the heart of every Englishman went out to the brave American sailors who gave that parting tribute to the Queen’s ship. When the excitement on the _Vandalia_ which followed the collision with the _Calliope_ had subsided, it was determined to beach the vessel, and straining every means at hand to avoid the dreaded reef, she moved slowly across the harbor until her bow stuck in the sand, about two hundred yards off shore and probably eighty yards from the stem of the _Nipsic_. Her engines were stopped and the men in the engine-room and fire-room below were ordered on deck. The ship swung around broadside to the shore, and it was thought at first that her position was comparatively safe, as it was believed that the storm would abate in a few hours, and the two hundred and forty men on board could be rescued then; but the wind seemed to increase in fury, and as the hull of the steamer sank lower the force of the waves grew more violent, yet no one on shore was able to render the least aid.